Local volleyballers take silver

A week after Jas Michalski of Squamish and Tim Bonnell of Whistler placed second in the provincial grass volleyball championships, they were in bare feet on Spanish Beach in Vancouver to compete in the B.C. Beach Volleyball Championships on Aug. 25.

Once again the pair started slowly, losing two out of three matches in round robin pool play. They were relegated to the consolation round, where they found their touch. Bonnell made some acrobatic saves to avoid elimination, and Michaliski was effective in blocking the net to advance the team to the consolation final.

They lost the first set of that match to a strong Vancouver team 22-20, but came back to win the second games 21-19. The last set was incredibly close, and despite some big serves, great digs and long rallies, they lost 15-13 to claim silver.

Michalski and Bonnell have been a force on the provincial circuit all season, aided by their sponsors, Black?s Pub, Wildwood Lodge and Sportstop.